The Stall has some very important plot elements and works well as a revenge thriller. The storytelling isn’t chronological, however, which doesn’t help the overall experience.

The Stall is a low-budget indie film with all that this entails. But really, we never mind any minor problems with the sound or lighting as long as the story works.

In The Stall, the story is interesting and engaging but told in a way that really doesn’t help it. The characters behave in ways that seem uncharactaristic – or simply unrealistic – from what we’ve learned in the story so far.

However, later on in the movie, we get to understand why. The movie shows us the beginning and then the ending first. And then it finishes by showing us the middle. This can absolutely work but, for me, it just didn’t.

You can watch the trailer for The Stall right here or continue reading our review below.

A kick-ass woman!

The lead character in this movie is a kick-ass woman. And I do mean this as a huge compliment. This is exactly why I would have preferred to watch the story as a more chronologic story. That way, I could’ve watched her become a total badass.

Instead, we see a character that isn’t exactly brave or feels powerful, who suddenly seems to be very brave and powerful. I miss having the experience of watching her get there. If I had, I would also understand and believe that she felt in control.

It’s sort of like watching a weight loss show, where we get the final result at the beginning. And then get to watch them struggle to get there. It just doesn’t offer the same excitement and punch of “Watch me better myself!”.

It takes a village

We first became aware of The Stall because we reviewed The Dark Military, which had some great elements. For one, the actors seemed to have a blast with many of the off-beat characters. Read our review of The Dark Military here >

The star (and writer-director) of this movie, Jennifer M. Kay, was one of the actors in The Dark Military. So was Loren W. Lepre, who directed it and also stars in The Stall.

I love it when the same people get together and work on these indie projects. Whatever the result, you just know that a lot of love and passion went into each project. And that definitely comes across with The Stall as well.

One woman army

Jennifer M. Kay wrote, directed and stars in The Stall. I love it when moviemakers can take on all these roles, and respect that anyone can. Still, I do wonder if maybe it’s too much to take on everything.

For this particular movie, I think a different editing could have made a huge difference. Then again, I also feel that this style of storytelling was the plan all along. And I certainly understand that they stuck with it.

I would just have loved to watch a different take on it. I think The Stall would’ve hit home for me a lot more.

The potential for interesting and engaging storytelling is clearly there. Of course, Jennifer M. Kay already has more projects in the making as well. And we’ll be sure to check those out when we get the chance.

The Stall is out on AmazonPrime now and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray from March 27, 2018.

Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix is at least as good as season 1. You can probably binge-watch it in no time – but you’ll have a blast doing it!

I fell in love with Santa Clarita Diet within minutes of watching the pilot episode. I continued to love it throughout season 1 and now Netflix is giving us season 2.

If you’re so inclined, go ahead and binge-watch season 1 again. That way it’ll last a bit longer and you probably won’t be able to hold back when season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet is released. We certainly couldn’t and we didn’t even have to fear being spoiled.

Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet takes off where the first season left off. Yet another reason to re-watch season 1 again even though you should have no problem keeping up.

Drew Barrymore’s character, Sheila, is still undead and craving human flesh. Her husband, Joel, is still played by Timothy Olyphant, who is very much alive. Also, their daughter, Abby, is as wonderfully laid back and mature as ever. And wonderfully portrayed by Liv Hewson.

Finally, there’s the boy from next door, Eric, who seems like a bonus member of the Hammond Family. He’s portrayed perfectly by Skyler Gisondo, who makes me laugh every single episode.

That’s actually saying a lot for a show where I love all the actors.

You can watch the trailer for Santa Clarita Diet Season 2 right here or continue reading our review below.

The search for a cure. Well, sorta!

When season 1 ended, the Hammonds (and Eric from next door) were searching for bile from a Serbian person. Upon discovering that an actual cure wasn’t possible, they set their sights on something that would at least stop the virus from progressing.

One thing is being undead, but another is rotting and falling apart. Sheila (Barrymore) lost a toe during season 1.

After failing to get bile from a Serbian grandmother, Joel (Olyphant) finds himself on a 72-hour hold at a psychiatric hospital. Abby and Eric decide that the Internet is the way to go for Serbian bile. Amazingly, an ad on Craig’s List for vomit from a Serbian quickly gives them a lead.

Just like in season 1, the kids (Abby and Eric) seem a lot better at finding practical solutions. Sheila and Joel are far too busy trying to fix problems that arise constantly. Fortunately, it’s rarely due to any fault of their own.

If it was, I think the plot would get tired real quick.

It’s a family affair

Most of the characters in Santa Clarita Diet act in very realistic ways. Sure, the comedy is a big part of it, and one of the leads is undead. But the dialog is brilliant and the storylines just work.

Most of the time it feels like a wonderful role reversal between kids and adults. The adults are running around “learning by doing”, whereas the kids get things done. I love that family dynamic – both between the spouses and the kids. Since the Hammonds and neighbor kid, Eric, are the only four people who know Sheila is undead, they feel like one family unit.

Sure the dialogue is harsher than what we usually get to experience, but it’s also more realistic. And always full of love and honesty.

In season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet, we get a lot more information about the origin of the virus. And we also find out what the little red ball (the one Sheila threw up before becoming undead) really is.

Finally, we discover that there are more undead and people fighting to get rid of the undead.

Santa Clarita Diet season 3?

For me, Santa Clarita Diet is a show I wish could go on forever. I love horror comedy and this show gives me everything I love about the genre; Blood and gore, amazing characters and funny plot twists as well as dialogue. What’s not to love?

Now we just need to know when season 3 of Santa Clarita Diet will be out. No word yet about season 3, but season 2 leaves plenty of room for more fun. Both in terms of mystery, plot and character development.

So please, don’t sit on season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet. Show Netflix that you love it too, so we can get more seasons of the Hammond family – both the living and undead family members.

Santa Clarita Diet is the kind of show I wish I couldn’t binge-watch because it’s over way too soon. But just like indulging your favorite dessert or meal, you will enjoy every second of it!

Season 2 of Santa Clarita Diet is released on Netflix worldwide on March 23, 2018.

Details

Plot

They’re ordinary husband and wife realtors until she undergoes a dramatic change that sends them down a road of death and destruction. In a good way. In Season 2 they are trying so hard to live their lives under the strange and twisted circumstances. In the process, Joel, Abby, and their next-door neighbor Eric are desperately trying to find a cure. To make things even worse, whatever caused Sheila to turn into a living dead person is spreading, and the people of Santa Clarita have begun to notice an increasing number of missing people in their community.

The Ravenous (Les affamés) is an extremely bloody zombie drama on Netflix. Even though it’s full of blood, the pace is more drama than horror or thriller. Not that this is a bad thing, but it isn’t for everyone.

The Ravenous (or Les Affamés) actually isn’t a Netflix production. It’s a Canadian movie, which is now being released globally on the streaming platform. This is after having enjoyed quite a successful run at film festivals worldwide.

It’s not that most viewers will care whether The Ravenous is a Netflix production. However, we’ve seen a lot of people complain about the quality of Netflix productions recently. For this reason alone, I wanted to mention that The Ravenous isn’t one of them.

Having said that, we feel pretty damn certain here at Heaven of Horror that The Ravenous isn’t for everyone. It will definitely receive mixed reviews from viewers. After all, this is a very character driven movie, where drama and silence (oh yeah) are driving forces.

For one thing, there really isn’t any soundtrack in large parts of the movie. This brings a fascinating feel of realism to the story. Something I really enjoyed, but also respect that many will find boring or just plain strange.

You can watch the trailer for The Ravenous (Les Affamés) right here or continue reading our review below.

Crazy amounts of blood

While the pace is very slow and the characters are pretty understated, the amount of blood certainly isn’t. Even though The Ravenous initially keeps viewers from seeing the most brutal actions, this changes. Before reaching the end of the movie, you’ll get Kill Bill volumes of blood fountains.

There are wild and intense scenes of characters battling zombies, but the story is generally a very gloomy outlook. There really isn’t much hope of happiness anywhere. This also means many of the characters will die before the movie is over.

Maybe part of the reason and inspiration for the story can be found in the ”Thank you” section at the end of the credits. The director literally starts out by thanking “My dad, my mom and George A. Romero”.

In other words, we’re definitely dealing with a director who’s a zombie fan.

Also, please, do yourself a favor and let the credits run. There’s an extra scene after the end credits. It doesn’t offer much additional information, but you should still watch it to get the full experience.

Zombie Chairway to Heaven

There are some elements of The Ravenous, which will leave audiences confused or baffled. In this movie, the zombies have some strange projects going on. Basically, they build towers. And not just by throwing various things on top of one another. Oh no, the towers have themes.

There’s the tower built entirely of chairs and another one built from children’s toys. Why? Who knows.

In general, The Ravenous simply offers you to visit this post-apocalyptic world for a few days. There isn’t much hope, but you will experience how the survivors try to work together. And also how they initially never trust one another. Still, everyone accepts the fact that there’s strength in numbers.

Various parts of this movie reminded us of everything from It Comes at Night to Here Alone as well as elements from I am Legend. All are among our favorite zombie movies – and yes, there are many!

However, The Ravenous isn’t a copy of anything else we’ve seen. It’s very much it’s own story – for better and worse.

A zombie story worth watching

Buttom line, The Ravenous is definitely worth watching, if you love zombie movies. It’s not the big rush for a Friday night, since it is very much a doom and gloom story. Still, you can always rewatch a George A. Romero movie afterwards and you’re back in business.

And honestly, The Ravenous does have quite a few memorable scenes.

Particularly one of the female characters is all kinds of awesome. She’s a pearl-necklace-wearing and machete-wielding woman, who has lost everything and is taking back some power. Not only does she try to get zombies to approach her, she even starts running towards them, when they attack her group.

Robin Aubert wrote and directed The Ravenous with the original French title Les Affamés. The movie won “Best Canadian Feature Film” at Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. Also, it won the audience award at Montréal Festival of New Cinema.

The Ravenous is available on Netflix from March 2, 2018.

Details

Plot

In a small, remote village in upstate Quebec, things have changed. Locals are not the same anymore – their bodies are breaking down and they have turned against their loved ones. A handful of survivors goes hiding into the woods, looking for others like them.

Pyewacket is a fascinating horror drama with supernatural elements. “Be careful what you wish for” is at the heart of this story with wonderfully realistic characters.

On paper, Pyewacket can easily come off as another teenage angst fluff piece. Fortunately, this is a very pleasant surprise. For one, it’s a welcome example of how teenagers do face real issues. Also, their reactions might be extreme, but they rarely come out of nowhere.

In Pyewacket, Leah (Nicole Muñoz) is the teenager in question and she’s battling plenty of deep issues. Her dad recently passed away and her mom (Laurie Holden) isn’t dealing too well with her grief.

More specifically, she turns to alcohol before trying to physically remove herself from all memories. This means Leah has to leave her friends behind at the worst possible time.

Also, since her dad’s passing, she’s been increasingly interested in black magic. Her mom hates this, but Leah feels it comforts her. Basically, it’s just yet another obstacle between the two.

You can watch the trailer for Pyewacket right here or continue reading our review below.

Nicole Muñoz is the star

For the most part, Pyewacket is about Leah and her mom. Mostly, however, it’s about Leah, so it’s told from her point of view. This means Nicole Muñoz is in virtually every single scene. Quite often, she’s even on her own.

Nicole Muñoz (Christie from Defiance) does a stellar job of portraying a teenage girl torn between her own sorrow and comforting her mom. And, of course, how the two can’t seem to co-exist.

Laurie Holden (Andrea from The Walking Dead) plays Leah’s mom, Mrs. Reyes, and delivers another solid performance. She is extremely insensitive at times and downright cruel. To put it plainly, it is actually understandable that Leah decides to try and use black magic.

However, it is definitely also clear that Mrs. Reyes herself is depressed and struggling to do and be better. She has no real desire to hurt her daughter but lashes out due to her own pain.

Together, Laurie Holden and Nicole Muñoz work very effortlessly as mother and daughter. It seems honest and real in both the negative and positive aspects.

A seriously creepy horror drama

While Pyewacket is definitely a horror drama, it isn’t without some seriously creepy elements. An obvious comparison would be Under the Shadow (read our review of Under the Shadow here). Especially since both movies also have supernatural and very sinister elements.

From start to finish, Pyewacket is very much a horror movie. Everything in the story is very dark and sinister. The drama elements are used as storytelling devices and to ensure more of a slow burn.

I’ve always loved a good slow burner and Pyewacket manages to deliver this perfectly. Especially because it’s never too slow. The plot is constantly moving forward so you won’t be bored.

Actor turned filmmaker

Pyewacket was written and directed by Adam MacDonald, who’s primarily worked in front of the camera earlier in his career. Or actually, he still works as an actor. He just also manages to make pretty damn awesome movies in between.

In 2014, he wrote and directed his first feature film with Backcountry. Prior to this, he had directed two short films and even wrote one of them. If you haven’t watched Backcountry, you really should.

And Adam MacDonald already has another feature film in pre-production, but this time “only” as a director. It’s a sci-fi movie slated for 2019 called The Friendship Game.

For now, just make sure you check out Pyewacket, which definitely didn’t disappoint. Quite the opposite!

Pyewacket will be showing at Glasgow’s FrightFest March 3, and then it’ll be out in US limited theaters and on demand March 23, 2018.

Details

Plot

When you’re dealing with demons, be careful what you wish for… In this ultra-unsettling occult nightmare, teenage Leah (Nicole Muñoz) finds solace from the recent death of her father—and from her strained relationship with her mother (Laurie Holden)—by dabbling in the dark arts. It all seems like harmless fun at first, until a blow out argument leads Leah to do the unthinkable: put a death curse on her mother. No sooner has the girl performed the ritual than she regrets it. But it may be too late, as an evil presence known as Pyewacket begins to make itself known—and threatens to destroy both mother and daughter.

Midnighters is a wonderful surprise of a thriller. It keeps on throwing new little plot twists at you, but really, it’s all about the intriguing characters.

Before watching Midnighters, I hadn’t even watched the trailer. Basically, I had no idea what to expect, but I don’t think any trailer could have prepared me for this.

We follow the married couple, Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, on a New Year’s Eve. They’re facing financial struggles and their marriage isn’t doing too well either. Still, they try to remain positive and head home a bit early in the evening to get a fresh start to the new year.

That’s when everything starts going wrong. Really wrong!

You can watch the trailer for Midnighters right here or continue reading our review below.

I adore Alex Essoe

The actual protagonist of Midnighters is the wife, Lindsey, and she’s portrayed by Alex Essoe. If you’ve watched some of the best indie horror and thriller movies in recent years, then you probably know her.

Maybe not her name, but certainly her face and awesome previous characters. She was the star of Starry Eyes (2014) and more recently The Neighbor (2016).

In Midnighters, her husband is played by Dylan McTee, who does an awesome job. He’s not particularly likable since he’s pretty much one big excuse. Still, you do understand his frustration – to a point, anyway.

He has quite a few scenes with Lindsey’s sister, Hannah. She’s portrayed by Perla Haney-Jardine, whose first role was playing Uma Thurman’s daughter in Kill Bill: Vol 2. Her second role was as Jennifer Connelly’s daughter in a US remake of the Japanese horror movie Dark Water.

The dark horse in Midnighters is the character played by Ward Horton. He has the most entertaining and crazy character, which he works perfectly. Especially in scenes with Alex Essoe.

Ward Horton starred in Annabelle. He was the husband, who brought the Annabelle doll into the house when he bought it for his pregnant wife.

There are more characters and great performances in Midnighters, but you really should watch the movie to get all the good stuff. This is the kind of movie where the story is constantly evolving and the characters are pretty unfortunate or very lucky.

TV horror experienced director

Midnighters was directed by Julius Ramsey, who previously directed a few episodes of iconic horror TV shows. He’s worked on both The Walking Dead and Scream: The TV Series. Also, he’s worked as an editor on 23 episodes of The Walking Dead, so he knows how to work horror and suspense.

This movie is the feature film debut for Julius Ramsey and something entirely different. It’s definitely in the thriller genre and one of the best examples in the genre I’ve seen in a while.

The script was written by his brother, Alston Ramsay, and it’s one Hell of a screenwriting debut. Alston Ramsay previously worked as a speechwriter for some real heavy hitters in and around the White House. Including General David Petraeus in Afghanistan.

You definitely do not want to miss this thriller. You’re in for quite a treat!

Midnighters is in Theaters and available On Demand and Digital HD March 2, 2018.

Details

Plot

Midnight, New Year’s Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life – except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness.

Mute is a new sci-fi thriller on Netflix. The deeply dystopian story by Duncan Jones takes place in a gritty and cold Berlin. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite hit the mark until very late.

Mute is directed by Duncan Jones which is a huge plus in my book. And having it released on Netflix for the world to watch is just an added bonus.

Also, it stars Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd, and Justin Theroux. All three are actors I’ve loved in previous roles.

Even better, it takes place in a future Berlin, which looks like something straight out of Blade Runner 2049 orAltered Carbon. Basically, it’s all cold tech and lots of neon, but very little heart and warmth.

So what’s not to love? Well, I didn’t get much from the trailer, which is probably because the story is pretty much a mess.

You can watch the trailer for Mute right here or continue reading our review below.

What’s the point of it all?

For a long time, I was just waiting to figure out what the Hell was going on. There a quite a few stories being told and while I found many of them interesting, it’s too much.

It felt more like the pilot episode of a series than the beginning of a movie. Actually, it was more like the entire first half of the movie. It’s too much to keep my interest at peak levels, so I definitely found myself getting impatient.

I loved the fact that Duncan Jones’ first feature film is part of Mute. Throughout the movie, we keep seeing Sam Rockwell on various TV screens as his character in Moon. I took this to be a good sign, but by the end of it, I feel it was just a gimmick. Or rather, a way of telling us where in time this is all taking place.

And don’t worry, all the dots [stories] do get connected in time. It just feels like we had no way of doing it on our own, and Duncan Jones is usually better than this.

Three leading men

The new Netflix movie may be titled Mute and have Alexander Skarsgård portray the role of the mute, but this is actually Paul Rudd’s movie. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adored Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) in Mute.

It’s just that Paul Rudd has at least as much screen time. And well, obviously, he has lots of lines since this is a very typical Paul Rudd performance.

Also, he shares most of his scenes with Justin Theroux, who has the most interesting character. He definitely goes through quite a transformation. At least, he shows more of himself as the story progresses – both to Paul Rudd’s character and the audience.

It almost does feel like there are three leading men. Though to be fair, I would say Justin Theroux is more of a supporting role. He just ends up stealing scenes all over the place.

Duncan Jones misses the mark

While many people might know Duncan Jones primarily for being the son of David Bowie, he is quite the accomplished filmmaker already.

For me, this is the first time Duncan Jones doesn’t hit the mark perfectly. The last 30 minutes of the movie is what I expect from him, but there was too much that felt off in the first half.

In the past, Duncan Jones has often, but not always, been part of the writing process as well. For Mute, he’s credited for coming up with the story itself and co-writing the screenplay with Michael Robert Johnson.

Details

Plot

Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can’t tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.

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March 2018 features lots of new movies and TV shows coming to Netflix US. Here’s a list of the new horror, thriller and sci-fi movies and TV shows coming to Netflix in March 2018.

The list will be edited regularly with new titles.

2307: Winter’s Dream

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018In 2307, a soldier is sent on a mission to hunt down the leader of the humanoid rebellion.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.

I Am Number Four

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list. This is his story.

Moon

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.

The Descent

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.

The Descent: Part 2

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018Refusing to believe her story about cave-dwelling monsters, the sole survivor of a spelunking exploration gone horribly wrong is forced to follow the authorities back into the caves where something awaits.

The Experiment

Available on Netflix: March 1, 201826 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.

The Gift

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018A young married couple’s lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an acquaintance from the husband’s past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.

The Lazarus Project (2008)

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018A former criminal is drawn into a criminal endeavor and subsequently finds himself living an inexplicable new life working at a psychiatric facility.

Untraceable (2008)

Available on Netflix: March 1, 2018FBI agent Jennifer Marsh is tasked with hunting down a seemingly untraceable serial killer who posts live videos of his victims on the Internet. As time runs out, the cat and mouse chase becomes more personal.

Les affamés – The Ravenous

Available on Netflix: March 2, 2018In a small, remote village in upstate Quebec, things have changed. Locals are not the same anymore – their bodies are breaking down and they have turned against their loved ones. A handful of survivors goes hiding into the woods, looking for others like them.

Aftershock (2012)

Available on Netflix: March 7, 2018In Chile, a group of travelers who are in an underground nightclub when a massive earthquake hits quickly learn that reaching the surface is just the beginning of their nightmare.

Requiem: Season 1

Available on Netflix: March 23, 2018In 1994 a toddler disappears from a small Welsh town, never to be seen again. Twenty-three years later, talented young cellist Matilda, played by Lydia Wilson (Star Trek Beyond, About Time), has her life turned upside down by her mother’s inexplicable suicide. In the wake of the tragedy Matilda begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself, embarking on a quest that leads her to that Welsh village – a place haunted by its own past, where the secrets she uncovers threaten to unravel her very identity.

For one, Forgotten is unbelievably gorgeous visually. This is nothing new for Korean movies since they do tend to have a very high production value. Still, it’s almost a shame that we can “only” watch this on Netflix and not the big screen.

You can watch the trailer for Forgotten right here or continue reading our review below.

A story within a story

Forgotten features quite a few stories. Not only is there a story within the story, we also get to experience certain elements from more than one character.

The main protagonist is Jin-Seok and as such, we do follow him from beginning to end. However, there are various plot twists that allow for more than one point of view. I can’t really get into it here, but trust me, you will not be bored.

So put the damn phone down and watch the movie. Yet another reason to make sure you watch it in Korean and read the subtitles. Lots of things also happen with non-verbal communication, so stay alert.

You probably can’t catch all the plot twists and turns ahead of time. But really, any experienced horror and thriller fan will catch quite a few things.

Netflix success with South Korean productions

Forgotten was written and directed by Hang-jun Zhang. I was quite surprised to discover that this is only the third directing (and second writing) credit for Hang-jun Zhang.

I just hope this cooperation with Netflix is the first of many since he pretty much just blew my mind with this one.

His two first directing credits were back in 2002 and 2003, but hopefully, we won’t have to wait that long for something new from him.

Maybe a partnership with Hang-jun Zhang could be the perfect way to continue building on this success.

Also, the star of this movie is Ha-Neul Kang who plays the role of Jin-Seok. And what an awesome job he does!

When you watch the movie, you’ll discover how much he has to work with. It would certainly be great to see him in another production available to us in the West as well.

Watch Forgotten on Netflix now!

Please, don’t wait too long before watching Forgotten on Netflix. You will probably end up having some of the core plot twists revealed ahead of time. And trust me, you want to experience those while watching the movie.

If you find yourself liking the South Korean style of thrillers, be sure to check out more on Netflix. Quite a few of the greatest thrillers and horror movies are actually available.

Details

Plot

When his older brother Yuseok gets kidnapped on their first day at a new house, Jinseok suffers from hallucination until Yuseok returns home on the 19th day with a memory loss and strange behavior. Finding himself in a hidden murder case in Yuseok’s twisted memory, Jinseok sets out only to face a heartbreaking truth.

Dismissed is an intense horror thriller out on Netflix now. Starring an incredibly dark and impressive Dylan Sprouse in a role, he could easily make a trademark character out of.

Dylan Sprouse is the perfect star of Dismissed, and you should absolutely check it out on Netflix now! It definitely isn’t a movie without issues, but most can be forgiven. After all, the more annoying plot twists are clearly there to help make the story even darker.

We’re not exactly the kind of people who will complain about elements that make a story more horror-filled. However, it is annoying when the more stereotypical plot twists come along.

Basically, Dismissed is dark and twisted enough without the added horror. Dylan Sprouse portrays a character so warped and jaded that simply looking at his face is all the horror you could dream of.

You can watch the trailer for Dismissed right here or continue reading our review below.

Dylan Sprouse as a horror icon

Dismissed works almost entirely because Dylan Sprouse is so intense in his portrayal of Lucas Ward. With just a split second he can change from a charming smile to a psychotic one. His eyes remain pretty much dead through all the motions and it is perfect.

Dylan Sprouse can be a real charmer, but damn, how I hope he will go down the horror rabbit hole. He could easily portray iconic characters in horror movies for the rest of his career, if he wished.

For the record, the rest of the cast works absolutely beautifully as well. But you get sucked in by the madness of Sprouse’s character. He is so easy to read and yet, it is very easy to see how he can fool everyone.

Also, Chris Bauer (True Blood) is absolutely perfect in his portrayal of Lucas’ father. Not an easy character to play, but one I really wish we had seen more of. Still, sometimes less is more and what we got was spot-on.

The art of restraint

Sometimes, you watch a movie and you really wish the story could end. Basically, you want them to quit while they’re ahead, but you know they won’t.

Everything is awful and the bad guy looks like he’s winning, but you know the filmmakers need to take it just that one step too far. Unfortunately, this is the downfall of Dismissed as well.

It’s now terrible, but it does make for a lesser movie than what might have been.

Dismissed has so much going for it, but the lead character just can’t stop himself. The actual lead character is the teacher, Mr. Butler, played by Kent Osborne. He doesn’t want to give in to Lucas Ward’s demands and is punished in quite a few ways.

If the movie had ended just 5-10 minutes earlier it would simply have been a stronger story for me. But hey, to each their own.

Dismissed is worth your time

Brian McAuley wrote the script for Dismissed and he’s no stranger to the world of horror. Well, even though he did also write an episode of Fuller House. But anyway, he also wrote part of the horror anthology Patient Seven so he’s onboard with the horror crazies.

As a whole, I really liked the story, so hopefully, we’ll get plenty more from his horror mind in the future. Or even thrillers, since Dismissed is more thriller than horror, but certainly has elements of both.

Benjamin Arfmann directed Dismissed and this marks his feature film debut. He’s done short films and TV-series in the past, but this is his first feature film. As such, I would certainly be happy with the result if I were him. Especially the fact that the movie did have a pretty tight runtime.

The Curedis a brilliant new zombie movie and we absolutely love it. In this movie, some of the zombies can be cured and are about to be reintroduced into society.

The Cured is a zombie horror movie in the style of 28 Days Later but set in Ireland. In other words, there’s plenty of horror and zombies, but also elements of drama and thriller.

Plotwise, we arrive after the virus, but unlike 28 Days Later, the outbreak is now under control. In fact, a cure has been found, which brings the majority of affected back to their normal human state.

There is, however, one major problem; They remember everything they did as zombies. Whether they killed family members, strangers or babies, it’s a vivid memory. Not surprisingly, this results in many depressions and suicides among the cured.

Also, a lot of people are concerned that maybe they aren’t completely cured. And nobody wants a second outbreak.

You can watch the trailer for The Cured right here or continue reading our review below.

What makes a zombie?

For the record, let’s just get into the question of what a zombie is. I know some people will say that you cannot be “cured” of being a zombie because you’ll be dead. And yes, originally, zombies were the living dead (or the walking dead, if you will).

Basically, when you became infected (i.e. bitten) by a zombie, you would die and then “wake up” as a zombie.

However, in more recent movies, being a zombie (or zombie-like) has been treated as more of a virus. In 28 Days Later, people didn’t die before turning into zombies. Will Smith struggles to find a cure in I Am Legend, where zombies are also treated as infected humans to be healed. And Brad Pitt allows himself to get infected to retrieve what he believes is the cure in World War Z.

Often, the word “zombie” is used interchangeably with “infected”. And really, as long as the movies are good, I don’t have any pet peeves about this. So call them infected or zombies, it’s all the same to me.

The animal inside

In The Cured, those who have been cured seem to have a connection. Whether this connection is simply the shared trauma or something more, is the real question.

What we do know is that the cured are no longer in danger of getting infected again. Apparently, they still have the scent of already having the infection and so the zombies aren’t interested in them.

And yes, zombies are still in the world. After discovering that humans could be cured, it wasn’t exactly popular to continue killing the infected. Not unless your own life was on the line.

The primary star of The Cured is Sam Keeley. We follow him as he is reintroduced to society as a cured person. Most of the cured people move from the hospital to a halfway house. Either because they have no family or because the family is afraid of them. After all, they may have witnessed this person try to kill family members.

However, Sam Keely’s character is lucky since his sister-in-law (Ellen Page) takes him in. She has a son but lost her husband during the outbreak. And yes, we get an explanation as to why an American is still in Ireland.

In general, people are not crazy about having any cured people in their neighborhood. Many of the cured ones aren’t crazy about being alive with their memories either. But taking on a father role to his nephew helps our protagonist carry on.

A brilliant addition to the genre

It’s fascinating to see Sam Keely portray a cured person trying to return from the horrible things he’s done. PTSD is a big part of it for both the cured and those who managed to fight off the infected. However, the real issues are at the hospital.

One of my favorite characters was played by Paula Malcomson (Katniss’ mom in The Hunger Games). She’s a doctor trying to find a cure for her wife. Her wife was also a doctor and helped find the original cure. Unfortunately, she was infected and turned out to be in need of a different kind of cure. Along with +5.000 other infected.

Also, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Peaky Blinders) is brilliant as a cured person, who cannot return to his old life. His family wants nothing to with him. He came from money and all he can get now is a job cleaning, so he’s making plans to even the playing field.

The Cured was written and directed by David Freyne and he has given us a brilliant addition to the zombie genre. This is the first feature film for David Freyne as both writer and director. He has made several short horror films in the past – including The First Wave (2014), which The Cured is based on.

Hopefully, he will gift us horror fans with many more horror movies in the future. Especially if The Cured is any indication of his style. You do not want to miss this one!

Plot

A disease that turns people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.